Story Published:
Nov 24, 2006 at 12:11 PM PST
Story Updated:
Nov 27, 2006 at 4:46 PM PST
Updated Monday 4:45 p.m.
SEATTLE - For those of you playing Weather Bingo, I think we've filled in all the squares.
After weeks of rain and wind, and then a few thunderstorms with hail, we've now got the snow covered as heavy snow hit the northern half of Western Washington Sunday. And we're not out of the snow woods just yet.
The day began with icy roads in the North and South Sound areas.
The Everett/Snohomish County areas, where as much as 6" fell Sunday, was right at the freezing mark early Monday morning. There were also a lot of icy roads in south King County and in the Tacoma/Pierce County areas where roads were wet from Sunday's rain and temperatures overnight fell to near 30. Several accidents were reported along I-5 and SR-18 just after 5 a.m.
Not to be left out, there were several school delays due to ice in Thurston County. Meanwhile, Several roads in Kitsap, Clallam, Jefferson, Island, Skagit and Whatcom Counties remain covered in snow and ice from the Sunday storm.
Numerous traffic accidents were reported early Monday in snowy weather around Centralia and Chehalis, about 70 miles south of Seattle. Traffic on Interstate 5 in Centralia was being detoured for several hours Monday morning because of a jackknifed tractor-trailer rig, the state Transportation Department reported.
In the greater Seattle/Bellevue Metro area, temperatures were above freezing and roads were mainly wet or slushy.
During the midday hours, another snow squall parked over Island County and western Skagit County, bringing another 7-10" of snow there. Several trees were down and power was out to over 25,000 people.
How Much Snow Fell?
As for the snow, the hardest hit area was western Whatcom County and the San Juan Islands. As much as 14-18 inches fell in northern Whatcom County, with one viewer reporting 18" in Ferndale.
The State Patrol says all roads in the area are under heavy snow, and that traffic was having great difficulty getting through on I-5 north of Bellingham. At one point Sunday evening, it was a 5 hour delay to get through Whatcom County.
Classes were canceled Monday for nearly 13,000 students at Western Washington University in Bellingham, where Mayor R. Mark Asmundson declared a snow emergency, and practically all elementary and secondary schools throughout Whatcom County were closed.
But snow also fell in many other parts of the area. From North Seattle through Everett and Skagit County and west to the Hood Canal area, as much as 6" fell there. And over along the northern Olympic Peninsula, some places had nearly a foot of snow that were a little south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Here's some snow totals from the storm:
Ferndale: 18"
Port Angeles: 18" (toward Olympics)
Lynden: 17"
Bellingham: 10-14"
Maple Falls: 12"
Coville (Clallam County): 11"
Friday Harbor: 9"
Marysville: 8"
Port Angeles: 7" (near city)
Potlatch: 6"
Anacortes: 6"
Everett: 6"
Mukilteo: 5"
Bothell: 5"
Sequim: 4.5"
Belfair: 4"
Snohomish: 4"
Quilcene: 4"
Shelton: 3"
Island County: 2"
Bremerton: 2"
More Snow Monday
Another round of snow was pushing through the northern Puget Sound region Monday evening at the height of the evening commute. DOT cameras showed snow piling up on Interstate 5 through Northgate and Shoreline. That snow will expand south and east and eventually roll through most of the Western Washington lowlands.
A SNOW ADVISORY has been extended until 5 a.m. Tuesday for almost all of western Washington, including the greater Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Bremerton, Tacoma, Olympia areas, as well as the Cascade foothills, southwestern Washington, the central and south Coast, and the Kitsap Peninsula. Snow totals could range from 1-3 inches -- even down to sea level this evening and overnight.
Not to be outdone, a HEAVY SNOW WARNING is in effect for the north Coast and North Olympic Peninsula through midnight, for 3-7" possible... 3" closer to the Strait and ocean and 7" closer to the mountains. And a HEAVY SNOW WARNING remains in effect through midnight for the Island County and western Skagit County areas for total Monday storm totals of 7-10".
About the only place that is not under any warning is, ironically, north of Skagit County, where they have enough snow already, thank you very much, but they are already on the other side of this arctic boundary so they are drying out.
But even outside this front, there are random scattered snow showers in the unstable air mass that could produce local accumulations from 1-2" and perhaps even a rumble of thunder.
A VERY Cold Night On Tap - More Ice Tuesday Morning
Once the arctic front/Convergence Zone passes overnight, skies will clear, but temperatures will plummet. Overnight lows will drop into the low-mid 20s in the Seattle/city areas, and into the teens in the outlying areas and north of Skagit County where the arctic air continues to flow out of the Fraser River Valley.
Thus, expect another very icy commute all areas Tuesday morning, especially those that have snow on the ground.
And then we do it all again Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. The skies will be clear by then, but overnight temperatures will drop into the teens and low 20s.
We finally moderate some during the day Wednesday, as temperatures should get up closer to 40, but another weather system is heading our way for late Wednesday and Thursday, and with cold air in place, that could spell more snow potential. That should eventually change to rain Thursday afternoon. Will it be the 0.25" we need to get over the 15.33" rain total for November that would tie the Federal Building record for wettest month ever? It'll be close!
Looks like just a few rain showers Friday, and then cold rain Saturday and Sunday. Perhaps another cold spell early next week, but this doesn't look quite as cold, nor as wet as this one. And why would it? By then, November would be over :)
The Associated Press contributed to some of the news aspects to this report
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